National Archives Road Trip

The C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience brought ten students on a road trip to the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Students took part in an all-day workshop on how to conduct research in federal records, taught by Archives staff and professional historians. Students and faculty from the University of Maryland, George Washington University, American University, and other institutions also participated in the event, which was organized by the Society for History in the Federal Government.

The day concluded with a private tour of the National Archives’ “treasure vault,” where students got up-close looks at some incredible documents that are not usually on display … including George Washington’s handwritten nomination of his first cabinet, James Madison’s draft of the Bill of Rights, Abraham Lincoln’s letter appointing Ulysses S. Grant to command the Union armies, FDR’s “day that will live in infamy” speech, and the original briefcase from the Watergate burglary.

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Hodson Trust-Griswold Director of the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience Adam Goodheart and Nancy L. Underwood Associate Professor of Art History Donald McColl brought their students to visit the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

Adam Goodheart, the director of the C.V Starr Center for the American Experience, gave a talk at the Smithsonian Art Museum about his book 1861: The Civil War Awakening. Goodheart walked the audience through portions of his book with intriguing stories about the people of the Civil War era, including General E.E. Elsworth and ornery Union firefighters.

On May 3 in Hynson Lounge, Hodson Hall, C.V. Starr Center director Adam Goodheartread from his New York Times best-seller, 1861: The Civil War Awakening. Officially released April 5, the book has already garnered critical acclaim and widespread media attention, and graced the cover of the New York Times Book Review. Goodheart has recently appeared on panels with filmmaker Ken Burns and noted historians James McPherson of Princeton and David Blight of Yale, and will be giving talks and readings at universities and cultural institutions across the country in the months ahead.Goodheart’s reading was sponsored by the Sophie Kerr Committee, the Rose O’Neill Literary House and the Washington College Department of History. A book signing followed the talk.